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Abstract

Among uninsured and resource-poor populations, community safety net clinics are important providers of breast cancer screening services however there is little data on screening utilization patterns. Using data from a safety net screening center in Washington DC, we assessed time trends in mammography utilization by selected sociodemographic factors. Prospectively collected demographic data were abstracted from the electronic medical records of the Capital Breast Care Center (CBCC) during 2010 – 2015. Time trends of mammography utilization over the 6 years were calculated and statistical significance of the differences between trends by the selected sociodemographic factors was analyzed using the Cochran-Armitage test. 8448 Black/ African-American and Hispanic women were screened at CBCC with 106 diagnoses of breast cancer. The proportion of women <50 years of age declined over the 6- year study period. Trends in the racial/ethnic composition of the women screened shifted, with African-American women decreasing, while the proportion of Latina patients increased (p-value <0.0001). In this analysis of women presenting for breast cancer screening, over a 6- year period there were significant trends towards an older age at screening, an increase in Hispanic women being screened, and an increasing proportion residing outside the District of Columbia.

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The goal of the Cancer Health Disparities (CHD), a journal of The Company of Scientists, is to cover all aspects of disparities including social, cultural, behavioural, environmental, genetic and epigenetic determinants contributing to differences in cancer incidence, prevalence, death, survivorship, and burden of cancer that exist among different population around the world. The overall aim is to publish high quality, high impact and innovative research articles in all areas related to cancer health disparities. CHD will publish case report, multidisciplinary editorial, commentary, hypothesis, short and full length reviews, full length original clinical or basic science research articles and short articles of immediate scientific or clinical significance. These include disparities at the metabolic, molecular, genetic, epigenetic, physiological, clinical, diagnostic, prevention and therapeutic levels.